In Time

[birdienl]

I don't very often review modern (as opposed to period) films. Sometimes because I've seen them reviewed in many other places, mostly because I just don't have such strong opinions on them as on period films. But when I watched In Time a while ago, I just knew I had to write a review about this!

In this movie, the phrase 'time is money' has become literal in a future version of our world. People stop aging at 25, they then earn time when working and spend time when buying things. The world is divided in zones of rich and poor people, with the rich having the opportunity to live forever and the poor often literally 'running out of time'. Will Sallas (Justin Timberlake) lives with his mother in the poorest district and is just able to make it to every next day. When he receives an exorbitant amount of time from a rich stranger, at first he decides to taste all the expensive things the world has to offer. But as he becomes more and more convinced of the unfairness of the system, he decides to do what he can to help the poor he grew up among. Together with Sylvia, daughter of the richest man in the country, he starts to fight the system.

The premise this movie is based on is an interesting one: working for time in stead of money. In our modern society, time has become our most valued possession and in In Time, we see this idea being taken to the extreme. In this way, this action movie unexpectandly becomes a source of thought about the importance of time and how we spend it. I love it when a movie can surprise me and turn out to be more than I expected it to be. And I loved how the story of this movie harks back to the Robin Hood legend in a way.

Next to that, this movie is just very cool. It has all the ingredients of a thrilling action flick: chases, daring escapes, firefights in unbelievable locations, all taking place in a future world, distant from, but still recognizable as our own. The fact that all people in the  story look around the same age is alienating, but effective to further the story.

The acting overall is more than decent. I really liked seeing Amanda Seyfried in a role very different from what I've seen her in so far (Mamma mia, Letters to Juliet, Dear John) and doing very well. I've never been a particular fan of Justin Timberlake, but I thought he played the role of Will Sallas convincingly. A supporting actor I liked very well in In Time was Cillian Murphy as policeman/Timekeeper Leon, playing off very well against Timberlake.

I also liked the ending of the movie, showing that all's not well in the world yet and the 'mission' of Will and Sylvia goes on. Though the action story of the movie is well worked out and characters have an appreciable amount of depth for an action movie, I missed a bit of background on the world In Time takes place in. I would have liked to know a bit more about how the system started and what caused it in the first place.

Overall, an above average action movie which I would recommend to any fans of the genre or someone just looking for something 'different'.

Comments

[birdienl.livejournal.com]

No, I went into it with rather low expectations as well, though I had read a positive review on a blog that I trust. But I was really pleasantly surprised!